• OVC Baseball Report – March 25 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, March 26
Southern Indiana at Ball State, 2:00 p.m.
Little Rock at #1 Arkansas, 3:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Southeast Missouri at Missouri State, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Bellarmine
at Morehead State, 3:00 p.m.
Tennessee Tech at #5 Tennessee, 5:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Lindenwood at Bradley, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Evansville, 6:00 p.m.
UT Martin at Southern Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, March 28
*Little Rock at Lindenwood, 3:00 p.m.
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 4:00 p.m.
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m.
Friday, March 29
*Little Rock at Lindenwood, 3:00 p.m.
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 30
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Little Rock at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m.
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Tennessee Tech, 2:00 p.m.
OVC Players of the Week
CO-PLAYER
Dylan Drumke, OF • 5-10, 190, R-Jr. • Libertyville, Ill. • Eastern Illinois
In four games last week Drumke hit .538 (7-for-13) with six runs scored, a double, three home runs, 12 RBI, three walks, two hit by pitch, a stolen base, a .667 on-base percentage and 1.308 slugging percentage. In a mid-week game with Lindenwood, the junior hit a three-run home run and finished the game with six RBI and two runs scored; he was the first EIU player with six RBI in a game since the 2020 season. In the team's weekend series against Southeast Missouri, he was 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI on Friday and followed that with two more hits and two RBI on Saturday. He capped the weekend with a single to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He leads the OVC in on-base percentage (.500), ranks second in slugging (.755) and sixth in each batting average (.358) and home runs/game (0.30).
CO-PLAYER
Cole Warehime, 1B • 6-1, 185, So. • Downers Grove, Ill. • Southeast Missouri
In just two games last week Warehime hit .778 (7-for-9) with four runs, two home runs, nine RBI, a .778 on-base percentage and 1.444 slugging percentage. The sophomore tied the SEMO single-game RBI record with nine in Saturday's 21-4 victory at Eastern Illinois. The first baseman recorded his first two career home runs, both coming in the form of grand slams. The first grand slam came in the third inning with the other coming in the seventh. Warehime also added three singles (going 5-for-6 on the day) and scored three runs on the day. In the team's midweek victory at Austin Peay, he had two singles, a sacrifice and scored a run in the 8-7 win.
Others Nominated: Anthony Stellato, Lindenwood; Nico Baumbach, Little Rock; Roman Kuntz, Morehead State; Lucas Spence, SIUE; Jack Ellis, Southern Indiana; Nicho Jordan, Tennessee Tech; Mac Danford, UT Martin; Brock Lummmus, Western Illinois.
PITCHER
Hoss Brewer, RHP • 6-4, 205, Sr. • Canton, Texas • Little Rock
Brewer limited the Morehead State offense, which entered the weekend ranked 10th nationally in batting, to one hit over seven inning while striking out 11 batters in a 6-0 victory on Friday night. Brewer retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and had a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a one-out single to left field. After the hit he retired five of the final six batters before leaving the game; he combined with Josh Beezley for the shutout, the first of the season for the Trojans. Brewer's 11 strikeouts were the most by an OVC player this season. He improved to 2-2 on the season with the victory.
Others Nominated: Slater Wilcox, Eastern Illinois; Preston Salazar, Lindenwood; Callum McGill, Morehead State; Liam McKillop, SIUE; Gavin Seebold, Southern Indiana; Peyton Calitri, Tennessee Tech; Eric Steensma, UT Martin; Jason Buhl, Western Illinois.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: The first weekend of Conference play is in the books with Southeast Missouri the only team coming out with a 3-0 record ... Western Illinois, in its first season in the OVC, went 2-1 against UT Martin to earn its first Conference-opener series victory since 2018 ... Southern Indiana won a series against Tennessee Tech and now has four series victories on the season (the same amount it had all of the 2023 campaign) ... UT Martin head coach Ryan Jenkins won his 100th game as the Skyhawks head coach last week ... SIUE won its OVC-opening series for the first time since 2020, taking two of three games from Lindenwood; the team set a school record with eight stolen bases in Saturday's game ... Entering the week Morehead State ranks 10th nationally in hits (273) and home runs (48) and eighth in runs scored (229) ... Tennessee Tech's Austin Turner ranks second nationally in base on balls (32) and triples (4) ... Morehead State's Roman Kuntz is 11th nationally in home runs (12) and 15th in RBI (36) while teammate Ryley Preece is 13th in runs (35) ... Western Illinois' Caden Kratz has six saves, which ranks third nationally (two off the lead).
Stopper of the Year Watch List: Eastern Illinois senior
Zane Robbins and Lindenwood sophomore
Easton Rakers were among 73 players named to the initial Watch List for the 19th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.
2024 OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO: For the second year in a row the OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO will be held at Mtn. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. This year the event runs May 22-25. The event was also held at the venue (which was previously known as Rent One Park) in 2019. For the third year in a row, the bracket includes four single-elimination games on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to the double elimination portion of the bracket which will include the No. 1 and 2 seeds (who receive a bye until Thursday games). The venue, home to the Thrillville Thrillbillies of the Prospect League (the team completed its first season in 2023),.opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface and features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. It also has a new high-definition LED video board, 14 suites, a banquet facility, an entertainment plaza and kids’ play area. The stadium is located directly off Interstate 57. This year marks the 45th OVC Baseball Championship. The first elimination style OVC Baseball Tournament was held in 1980, most usually being played at the site of the regular season championship. Beginning in 2001 the tournament switched to a neutral site for the first time.
Kuntz Named National Hitter of the Week by the NCBWA (March 20): Morehead State senior DH Roman Kuntz has been named the Dick Howser Trophy National Hitter of the Week by the NCBWA. In five games Kuntz hit .455 (10-for-22) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI, a .538 on-base percentage and 1.227 slugging percentage. The senior homered in four of five games (each of which was a MSU victory) as the Eagles averaged 16 runs per game during the week. He scored twice and drove in three runs in the team's midweek win over Ohio. In the first game of a weekend series with Eastern Michigan, he was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI before combining to go 6-for-9 with five runs scored and eight RBI in a Saturday doubleheader sweep. Overall Kuntz scored 10 of the 12 times he reached base.
Little Rock Picked as 2024 OVC Preseason Favorite: Little Rock was picked as the 2024 OVC preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. The Trojans picked up 12 of 20 first-place votes and 155 points in being picked first, just ahead of Morehead State who received the other eight first-place votes and 148 points. Southeast Missouri was predicted third (127) and followed by UT Martin (106), defending tournament champion Eastern Illinois (100), Tennessee Tech (93), SIUE (67), Southern Indiana (52), Lindenwood (31) and Western Illinois (20).
MSU's Preece and LR's Wells Named OVC Preseason Player/Pitcher of the Year: In a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors, Morehead State senior outfielder
Ryley Preece and Little Rock junior right-hander
Jackson Wells were tabbed OVC Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year. Each earned their respective Player of the Year award at the end of the 2023 season. Additionally, 18 total players were named to the Preseason All-OVC team, all of whom were either first or second-team selections last year and were automatic picks for this year’s team. The 18 players came from six OVC teams with Morehead State leading the way with five selections and Little Rock and UT Martin having four apiece.
OVC Professional Success: Former OVC baseball players have found professional success at the Major League. Former UT Martin pitcher
Alec Mills tossed the 16th no-hitter in Chicago Cubs history (and 305th in MLB history) against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 13, 2020. Former Belmont standout
Matt Beaty was a member of the 28-man playoff roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Tampa Bay Rays four games to two to win the 2020 World Series. Since the OVC was formed in 1948, he is the first former OVC player to be on the active roster of a World Series Champion (most recently former SIUE pitcher Spencer Patton was a member of the 2016 Chicago Cubs championship team, but was not active for the World Series). In 2021, Eastern Illinois SS
Trey Sweeney was selected in the First Round by the New York Yankees (No. 20 overall), becoming just the third First Round pick in OVC history. SEMO pitcher
Dylan Dodd was then selected in the Third Round by the Atlanta Braves, marking the first time in OVC history two players were selected in the Top 3 rounds of the same draft.
New Teams: After welcoming three new teams last year, the OVC welcomed another new program in 2023-24. Western Illinois joined the OVC on July 1 after previously being in the Summit League. They are just the 25th full-time member in the 76-year history of the OVC.
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the third-place team (where the third-placed team cannot be determined, the AQ shall be the semifinal team that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament).
The 2024 Season: The 2024 season marks the 76th year of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 75 years, 13 different teams have claimed an OVC baseball regular season championship.
ESPN+: This year marks the sixth of the OVC’s media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($15.99/month). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at
www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.